Ashwini on award high

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She first burst into the limelight when she and her partner Jwala Gutta won the badminton women’s doubles gold at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010. That was the first time in history an Indian pair won the much-coveted top prize at this event. Since then, Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta went on to form a formidable pair on the international circuit, even winning the bronze medal at the 2011 World Badminton Championships — the first time Indians won a medal at the Worlds in 28 years.

More recently, Ashwini and Jwala had put up an impressive show at the Olympic Games in London, winning two out of three group stage matches. Though they were denied a quarterfinal berth for no fault of their own, they did enough to ensure they bowed out with their heads held high. Now, Ashwini has been rewarded for all her hard work and diligence with an Arjuna Award. “It is a great honour to be given such a prestigious award,” Ashwini said. “It is an incredible feeling to be inducted into a select band of sportspersons who have done the country proud.”

Many had expected her to get the award last year, along with Jwala. To a question about whether she felt hard done by it, Ashwini says she never even thought about it. “This thought never crossed my mind.” Ashwini’s interest in badminton was sparked at a very early age, when she was eight years old. “I had been playing with my parents for a while when they enrolled me in a summer camp. I enjoyed playing it so much that once the camp ended, they hired a private coach for me,” Ashwini recalled.

Till 2009, Ashwini had carved out a solid, if unspectacular, career for herself. That was when her fortunes changed for the better. Jwala, on the lookout for a new partner, chose Ashwini. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Or is it?
Lately, there have been rumblings that Ashwini might play with a new partner, signalling an end to her pairing with Jwala. However, Ashwini denied the rumours. “The whole thing (the reports) were a mistake. All I said was Jwala would take a break for now and till such time as she returns, I’ll play with a different partner. Once she does come back, we’ll be back to playing together.”

Next up for Ashwini is the China Masters Superseries, set to begin on September 11 in Changhow. As Jwala is unavailable to play, Ashwini would feature in the mixed doubles event with Hyderabad lad Kona Tarun.